SummaryCyclic ADP‐ribose (cADPR) was previously shown to activate transient expression of two abscisic acid (ABA)‐responsive genes in tomato cells. Here, we show that the activity of the enzyme responsible for cADPR synthesis, ADP‐ribosyl (ADPR) cyclase, is rapidly induced by ABA in both wild‐type (WT) and abi1‐1 mutant Arabidopsis plants in the absence of protein synthesis. Furthermore, in transgenic Arabidopsis plants, induced expression of the Aplysia ADPR cyclase gene resulted in an increase in ADPR cyclase activity and cADPR levels, as well as elevated expression of ABA‐responsive genes KIN2, RD22, RD29a, and COR47 (although to a lesser extent than after ABA induction). Genome‐wide profiling indicated that about 28% of all ABA‐responsive genes in Arabidopsis are similarly up‐ and downregulated by cADPR and contributed to the identification of new ABA‐responsive genes. Our results suggest that activation of ADPR cyclase is an early ABA‐signaling event partially insensitive to the abi1‐1 mutation and that an increase in cADPR plays an important role in downstream molecular and physiological ABA responses.